When she woke, she was alone in the big bed. She could hear Del talking in her bathroom and got up to see what he was doing. As soon as he saw her, he smiled hugely and pointed to the bathtub.
“I have to go, Peter. I’ll call you later. I want you to tell Merce what you’ve been able to find out as well. All right?” She couldn’t hear what Peter was saying, but it must have been bad. “I know you don’t want to break her heart, but she needs to hear this. I know for a fact she loves you too.”
“I do, tell him.” Del told his brother what she’d said as she stepped into the warm water. As soon as she sat down, her body screamed out in tight muscles and bits of pain here and there, but nothing she thought she couldn’t handle. Especially when Del sat on the commode next to her. “Do I want to know?”
“He found some things out about your brothers. No, you more than likely don’t want to know, but I think it would go a long way in making what they’ve done to you easier to handle. How are you feeling? I’m sorry I was so rough on you. Your skin is very easily bruised, isn’t it?”
She noticed them then, the small finger marks he’d made on her body. The marks of his teeth at her breast. Merce touched each of them, remembering what he’d done to her to have marked her in such a way.
“I’m going to think of them as badges of honor. Are you still going to marry me?” He smiled and got down on the floor next to her. “If you propose to me right here, Delmar Archer, I’m going to tell your mom that you seduced me into it.”
“She’ll just be happy that you’re now going to be a part of the family.” He pulled the ring out of the box and reached into the soapy water to take her hand. “I will love you more than I love myself if you’ll be my wife forever.”
The ring fit as if he’d had it made for her, but she knew he’d not. It was her grandmother’s ring from when she’d been just a child. She’d seen it on her finger while she baked and made dinner for her when she’d go there. Grandda must have given it to him for him to propose.
“I love you, Del. Yes, I’ll marry you and be your wife forever. But I want children. Not for the right reasons right away, but I want to see my grandda holding my child before he passes away. Your grandda as well. I want to see that more than I do the most wonderful museum in the world.”
“Good. I’d like that as well.”
They talked about the house. The rooms that would need to be updated. The stuff they still needed to get rid of. Every twenty minutes or so, he’d fill the tub with warmer water, careful of letting out the cold first.
They went to dinner after that, knowing that once their families found out they were engaged, they’d want to celebrate with them. She didn’t care. Merce thought she was getting the best of all the worlds with their combined families.
Chapter 5
Peter hated the look on Merce’s face as he showed her the pictures he’d unearthed. Bethany Lowery had had mental problems since she’d been a child. The pictures Merce was seeing now were from her file that he’d been able to get from the first home for the criminally insane that she’d been put in. Bethany had only been six years old.
“How did my dad not know this?” Peter told her it was because her records had been sealed. “I think someone should have told him he was marrying a murderer. Or at least told him to look into things about her parents. How was it known that she did this? Not that I don’t believe you, but was there any doubt she did this heinous stuff to her own family?”
“No. She confessed, of a sort.” She asked him what that meant. “When the police got to the home, she was sitting in the front entrance playing in the blood of the dog she’d killed too. The police asked her if she was alone in the house, thinking like you do, that she was entirely too young to have committed the crimes. But she told them in a singsong voice that not only was she the only one in the house, but that she’d had fun killing the people that tried to boss her around. To this day, there are people out there that don’t believe she did anything at all but was victimized by whoever had actually killed them.”
Merce stood up, handing the photos to Del. He’d been hard pressed to do this today—they’d only been engaged since this afternoon. But Del had told Peter she needed to know it all, as it would help her make better decisions where her brothers were concerned.
“Was she able to stand trial?” Peter told Merce she’d been too young to see if she had the capacity to do anything like answering attorneys’ questions. “I don’t mean to sound cold, but I have a feeling from the other things I’ve been able to find out that she knew just what she was doing. Did you find the things I told you about Brock and Harley?”
“Yes. Those records were only opened for me because you and Del are getting married. They didn’t want him to find out later that he might be marrying someone that could have the same condition. You couldn’t.”
She turned to Peter, waiting for an answer.
“Because, love, you’re not my daughter. Hers either, for that matter.” Harlin walked into the room and kissed Merce on the cheek. “I told Peter to look into that when he told me what he was doing for you. I didn’t know it until much later after Bethany was gone, that she’d lost the child we created. But that didn’t stop her from bringing one home. I think the hospital thought a child might steady her. It didn’t.”
“No, it certainly didn’t.” Merce asked him what he meant. Peter wished he’d not said anything then. “She tried to kill you after you and her were brought home. When the police arrived after receiving a call from one of the staff at the time, you were found in the oven with potatoes and carrots all around you, like you were a pot roast. Harley and Brock were tied to the chairs with their place settings in front of them.”
“Christ.” Peter felt sorry for Merce. This was coming out of nowhere for her. He couldn’t imagine what his brother was thinking right now. When he spoke again, Peter was proud of him for not calling off the wedding. “What about the baby? Merce’s parents? Didn’t anyone say anything about a missing child?”
“They were dead.” Merce asked her dad if Bethany had killed them. “No. There had been a car accident that had taken both their lives. I promised I would care for you if they let me take you home. The doctors at the time thought if she didn’t have a child to care for, all the good that had come from her pregnancy would have been worse. None of us thought she would go as far as she did. That’s something else I need to tell you. Harley and Brock have blocked that out of their minds—the time before you were born. Brock was nearly murdered by his mother just months before we found out she was going to have you. When I told her she was going to have a baby, she lit up like she was back with us. I swear to you, had I known what she would end up doing, I would have left you at the hospital for someone sane to raise.”
“Then I might not have met Del. No, you did the right thing, Dad. I swear to you, I will never think of you as anything but my dear dad.” He hugged her then, and when Merce looked at Del, he was watching his brother. “I’m not who I thought I was. Does this make a difference to you?”
“Do you still love me?” She nodded and said with all her heart. “Then it makes no difference to me who birthed you so long as you love me. It does take your worry of having a mentally challenged child out of the picture. I know you were worried about that.”
“I was. Very much so.” Del asked her to come to him. “Yes, hold me. I’d love that, every day forever. Our children too. Dad, will you treat my children I have with Del any differently? Now that I know what I do?”
“Never. Never in a million years.” Peter said he might. He’d never been an uncle before where he could be around the kids. “Well, son, I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I’m looking forward to being a grandda.”
Peter had been looking into some information about his cousins/stepsister and stepbrother. He didn’t know why, but Mom seemed to be excited about it. That was all he needed to be all
right with digging up the past with them. He’d not known how much they’d hurt their mother. As far as he was concerned, they could have gone to hell, and he’d have not lost one bit of sleep over it. But with Mom happy to find out about them, he would watch them so they’d not hurt her again. That was for damn sure. Peter was sure the rest of them felt the same way.
The rest of the evening, the four of them spoke of the things he’d been able to unearth. Merce took it very well, considering for her entire life, she thought she’d been the daughter of Bethany and Harlin. It was when Sherman joined them that things really started to fill in. He’d been helping Peter with all kinds of things, such as finding who her real parents were and seeing if there was anyone alive she could talk to should she want to.
“This is going to hit the papers badly when it comes out. Your grandparents on your mother’s side have been looking for you since the accident. I haven’t any idea why the police didn’t come forward with the information they had, but since they didn’t, I’m sure heads will roll from it.” Merce asked Sherman why they’d been looking for her. “Your parents weren’t married when you were born. Your mother was seventeen when she ran off with your father. His name was…let me look here. Your mother’s name was Rachel Judson. Your father…here it is. His name was Chad Overlook. They were both killed when a semi full of logs from a logging company turned over onto their car when they were sitting at a light. There was nothing that could have been done to save them. Someone there delivered you from your mother’s body before the ambulance arrived. There is some speculation that she was in labor when they were killed. The only way they could have found out about the baby was if someone told them. It wasn’t in the newspaper. Not then, anyway.”
“Where are they from? My parents, I mean.” Sherman had that information, so he watched Harlin. He was happy, it seemed to him, that this was coming out. However, he didn’t think the older man knew about the parents and their wanting their grandchild. “So they lived out west in Vegas and were here to get away from their parents. Is there any way you can tell if they were justified in leaving home?”
“No. Your parents were just teenagers. Your grandparents were doting on Rachel, but they didn’t allow her to run around. It seems she met your father at a party, and the two of them hit it off. From all accounts, they were in love.” Sherman handed a sheet of paper to Merce, who handed it off to Del. “Your father had a good job while they were living out here. Your mother had finished school and then went on to college. She wasn’t far from being an LPN when she was killed. Something that you should know. There is a huge reward from the logging company for your return. Of course, they paid out the ass for the accident too. Neither the money nor the insurance has ever been cashed out. It seems someone was waiting for you to find them and come home.”
“I’m not sure that would be a good idea.” Del asked Merce why. “I don’t know. It’s been at least twenty-four years since I was born. I can’t imagine they’d be thrilled to find out that not only am I alive, but I’ve been right here in Ohio all this time.”
“I have their contact information for you, Merce. And if it means anything to you, Mom was in the office when I was searching for information to give to you. She said she could be on her deathbed and want to know if a child of hers was still out there and doing well.” Sherman looked at Peter, then back at Merce. “Chad’s parents are still alive as well. Like your biological parents, they’ve been waiting on some kind of word that you’re alive. I think if you speak to them, you shouldn’t mention anything too personal right away. I’d leave that for when they decide if they want to be a part of your life or not. They, as you said, might not want anything to do with you after all this time.”
“I would very much like to meet them. To tell them what a wonderful daughter you were to me.” She hugged her dad after he sat down next to her. Harlin looked at Peter. “I know there are legal things that are going to be like a land mind for all this. What do we have to do if Merce should decide to contact them?”
“You don’t tell them anything other than when she went to get her marriage license to get married, that was how you found out. The doctors that were there that night are all dead. Even the nurses who might have known about it are in nursing homes. The police for sure wouldn’t have kept a record of it. So far as anyone knows, you came home with your wife and child, and that is all.” Harlin asked him if it was legal. “More than likely not if I looked into it much deeper. I’ve not, in the event someone wants to know more than they do about what we tell them. Is it wrong? I don’t think so. It’s not hurting anyone for her to just show up as their grandchild. In fact, some might say it’s best to leave sleeping dogs lie. Talking to them would entirely be up to you two. However, I’d never tell anyone, Harley or Brock especially. No one outside of this family needs to know shit about it.”
“I agree with that one. They’re causing enough trouble as it is.” Harlin spoke to him about other things he’d been able to find out. Things that weren’t good. Things that made his stomach turn a little when he thought about the other two’s lives growing up with Bethany as their mother.
Merce still hadn’t decided to call anyone by the time Peter was packing up his paperwork. Sherman hadn’t given her the numbers he said he had, but Peter thought she’d do it if for no other reason than to give them peace. He knew it would bother her to leave the two couples not knowing about their children. Their only children, as it turned out.
Peter gave Sherman a ride home since he’d walked to Merce and Del’s home tonight. Almost as soon as they were in the car, his brother started telling him how much fun he’d had researching the information on her parents. He asked him if he thought there could be a job in his firm for him.
“It’s funny you should ask, Sherman. I’ve been thinking the same thing. How nice it would be to be able to find long lost people. This one is turning out to be all right. No one is dead yet that it would matter to. However, I have no doubt that someday it won’t be so easy.” Sherman said he’d gotten help from both Robert and William on this. “Did they like it as much as you seemed to?”
“I think Robert was just thrilled not being an attorney anymore. He was glad too when, like you said, it turned out well. I’m not sure about William. He helped a great deal with it, but he…. The other day I heard that he applied for a job at the local cinema. I’m not upset about it as much as I thought I’d be, them throwing away good careers. But I’m doing the same thing, so I can’t say too much.” Peter asked why they’d gone to college to be an attorney in the first place. “Mostly, it was because you did it. I think Mom being so proud of you for doing it didn’t help. Not that I’m blaming her, I’m just saying that had a little to do with it. The other two? I don’t know. I think perhaps, like us, it was a good way to make money and to make Mom proud of us. Grandda too. I was so jealous of Del when he seemed to go his own way. Even Darrel being a doctor didn’t bother me like Del did. I felt a little like he’d betrayed us. Then I thought about how much he seemed to be enjoying his work. I hadn’t felt like that since I was first in the office. I’m looking for that spark he has.”
After dropping Sherman off at his home, Peter made his way to his own. They all, with the exception of Del, had lived away from home when Mom took that fall when she did. They’d all wanted to move home and care for her, but since Del had said he worked right in town and didn’t have a home yet, it was perfect for him, as he had nothing to hold him back from staying with Mom. Every day, Peter wished he’d been able to go home too. Just to hang out with his baby brother and his mom without anyone else around.
He was getting that now, he realized. All the time he wanted to spend with all of them. Being an attorney was what he wanted, but the perk of being his own boss and being able to see his family without any trouble made it doubly wonderful.
Once he was home, he decided to hire himself a staff. His house needed a good once over and some updates.
Yes, Peter thought. He needed to get his ass in gear and start inviting his family to visit him once in a while.
~*~
Brock read over the paperwork three times before realizing he didn’t know how he’d gotten it. Looking around the room, he saw his grandfather there with Merce, as well as his dad and that man again. Del. Clearing his throat, they all turned to him, and he asked them what this was supposed to mean.
“I’m not your sister. Not even stepsister. There was a mix-up at the hospital, a horrific accident the night I was born, and the babies were switched. In a couple of days, I’m going to go and meet my biological grandparents on both sides of my family.” Brock asked what the other paperwork was. “Oh, that’s me suing you for treating me like you have for the last twenty-four years. Mostly it’s from the time I turned eighteen, but there is a lot there that we’ve been able to find that you and Harley did. Like having someone spying on me all the time. Did you know that’s against the law?”
“You’re my sister, so I could easily get around those laws.” Peter, he’d forgotten he was there, said it didn’t matter what she was to them. It was against the law. Merce had been an adult at the time. “Like you would know. Did you get your degree from a gumball machine? Just sit there and shut up while I talk to my family.”
“The only family in this room with you, Brock, is Dad and Grandda. I’ve already spoken to Harley, who took it better than you are right now. All he did was toss me out of his room and tell me he knew it all along. There wasn’t any way I had been related to you two, and he was finished with me. Which is just the way I wanted it. Nothing to do with either of you unless necessary.” Merce sat down in the chair next to the bed. “You can make this all go away if you’d just sign the paperwork that says you’ll leave me and my family alone. That you’ll not bother me or the Archer family, and you’ll not try and take Grandda away from us again.”
Delmar (Archer's Dynasty Book 1) Page 8
